Another weekend, another weekend trip! This time it was to Belfast in Northern Ireland – an easy hour flight from London.
We based ourselves for 2 nights in Belfast and spent the Saturday doing the coastal route drive to the Giant Causeway and it’s surrounds.
On Friday night, we went for a couple of drinks at The Northern Whig and The Dirty Onion. Since we had lots planned for the next day, we called it a night relatively early.
The next morning, we took the coastal route to The Giant’s Causeway and stopped at Larne to get an Irish big breakfast at Upper Crust. Our first official stop was to go to the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge. It costs £9 to get in but it’s definitely worth it. The rope is suspended over 100m above sea level and the views are incredible. I highly recommend you go early to avoid the tour buses and its an easy 10-15 walk from the car park.
We then made our way to The Giant’s Causeway which is a short drive away.
Tip: You don’t have to go into The Giant’s Causeway information centre. If you do, you’ll be charged £12.50 to get in. It is FREE – you use the back entrance and do not walk through the centre!
We drove to Portballintrae for lunch. We headed to The Bayview Hotel and I had the beef and Guinness pie which was great. For dessert, we shared the sticky toffee pudding.
We drove past nearby Dunluce Castle and then made our way to the Dark Hedges, made famous by Game of Thrones. It’s become so popular that this street is now closed. We did a detour before going back to Belfast to come see this but it was fairly underwhelming. I definitely don’t recommend going out of your way to see this if you don’t have time!
We got back to Belfast and freshened up before heading to OX for dinner. We had the tasting menu which was a “surprise” as they use seasonal ingredients which changes all the time. There was a nice variety of dishes and everything was so tasty! Please see the photo captions for each course.
Ox Restaurant 
Fig tartlet, earl grey and foie gras 
Gougere, coolatin cheddar and beer 
Bread and butter 
Lobster, turnip, saffron. creme fraiche 
Asparagus, lardo, nettle, oyster mushroom 
Scallop, red wine, dulse, broccoli 
Rib of beef, wild garlic, bone marrow, carrot 
Beetroot, rhubarb, red basil, black pepper 
Blood orange, coffee, caramelised pastry, mascarpone 
Petit fours
Afterwards, we went to Bootleggers for some cocktails then headed to the Cathedral Quarter to go for more drinks. We mainly stayed at Duke of York and Harp Bar. It was a really fun night out!
The next morning, we checked out at 10am and strolled to St George’s Market for some breakfast.
We did a Black Cab tour which cost £12.50 each and it was a great way to see the city and get to know the history and past of Belfast. The tour was super informative and enjoyable!
After the Black Cab tour, we went to Hadski’s for a late lunch. We shared the squid, cod with risotto and a Sunday roast of beef.
It was a busy but fun weekend away to Belfast. There is so much history in Belfast and the surrounding coastal areas are beautiful.
Day In, Day Out 